Wichita eagle., 1887-07-16
DREAMY TALLAHASSEE.
FOX HUNTS, MlD-FEBRUARY PICNlCS
AND DELICIOUS LEMONADE.

Restless People.
We sit about here in Tallahassee on the
wide galleries Of the hotel little listlessly.
A glass of lemonade made with the delightful
addition of a sour orange, here and there a
half opened book, or a slowly moving fan &C
centuate the dolce far niente existence. The
younger, more energetic of the party are off
on fox hunt, and we hear the sound of
horns in the distance Fans and novels are
forgotten. We lean over the balcony rail-
ings, our eyes riveted on the brow of the hill
near by. Suddenly the cavalcade sweeps
over it toward us.
A pretty sight! Twenty-four riders nine
teen hounds moving in procession toward US
to the glad music of horns and laughter. A
dozen voices take up the tale, in which such
thrilling expressions as "hard riding" "cross
country ditcheS" "fences,n "at last we saw
the fox" are stinguishable-for we do not
hunt anise seed in Florida, be it understood,
but live, shrewd, sharp nosed foxes. Then
the party rides off to take position under thu
great oaks for photograph, and we return
20 our fans. A vision of you poor unfor-
Inmates, rubbing your noses and ears, and
covering over open registers, rises to our
pitying minds as we languidly sip our lemon
ade.
But the fox hunt deserves more than this
cursory mention-or the fox hunts-for sport
is one of the pleasures in life that bears repe-
tition. The other day one of the Little red
victims was freed by the dogs, and if was q
sight not to be forgotten. 1t was in a grove
of live oak, and my knowledge of the country
and desire for artistic accessories induces me
to add few glossy leaved magnolia trees to
the scene to give local color. Light and
shadow fell through the leaves on the bays
and roans and sorrels and on the pretty faces
and brigandesque hats. You can feel it if
you cannot see it. At the least, you can hear
it, can't you? Painting horses, baying hounds,
laughing voices, the horn, an undertOne of
breeze in the tree tops, and overhead the
plucky, wide eyed red fox waiting for his
death.
To7come back to things absolutely practi-
cal, however, here is a recipe for the epicure;
the real lemonade of Florida and of the
future is made as follows: Cracked ice, syrup
Of sugar, one pint of apollinaris, two lemons,
one-half sweet orange, one-half sour orange.
To be drank always in the open air with the
thermometer at so deg. in the shaded
Here | am back where l started, with the
thermometer at so deg, and this letter only
just begun, for Of course must tell you about
the celebrated local colored preacher and his
last Sundays sermon: "Bredren, announce
my tex, Who Is Itf l mex divide my tex
inter two parasitic subjeck an the predicate
Who is the subjeck, an is it is the predi-
cate. Now, if jis' KEEP on a-sayin' my SUBJ
jock all evenin', who, who, who, who 2
thered be no sense in my remarks; an eff !
should jis' a-keep on a-sayin' my predicate all
evenin', Is it, is it, is it, is itP thered be no
sense in that remark; but eff put the subjeck
an the predicate together, an say Who is
itP my meanin' is perfeckly clare" This
same parson tells us gravely that Moses lived
in the year "a Ammo Domini, and "used to
dominic ober the children of Israeli but
that we couldn't dominic ober de two Jews
In Tallahassee Also he announced that
there viii be meeting mex Tuesday even
ing, "by the will of God and meetin' mex
Monday evenin' anyway"
But there is better talk than this in ITALIA
hassee. There are grave old judges and gov
ernorS, the colonies, and their charming,
stately wives and daughters, and manly set
of young men left to uphold the family names
and honor. And there are gloriesj besides
those of the past. Each morning fine old
silver trays are 'handed in" by smiling ne
groeS laden with japoncas and violets and
various guests of the hotel-nost frequently
to the bellies.
One of our northern friends confessed that
Tallahassee was SO intimately connected in
her mind with the geography lessons of her
childhood and the list of state capitals that
she figured it as rustling little city, very red
In brick, and smart with stone pavemeuts and
shops. Imagine her surprise when she saw
rall al,e ja ba
well. Long struggling streets, running up
hill and down dale, red earth, great live oaks
lining the way; here and there open commons,
everywhere views and high horizon lines;
a glimps of Prince Murat's roof to the
west, of the smoke to the east: always
wherever you look, something of beauty
and interest. The old houses have a decayed
dignity, most of them, though one or two
still stand in all their glory. Near the
hotel there is a colonial sort of structure,
with massive white pillars and carefully
kept garden walks. 1t recalls the Old ITALIA
hassee DAYS, Tor it was here that one of the
scions of an ancient race brought his bride,
and the wedding feast is still a tradition in
this generation. | cannot tel you how many
four III hand coaches there were, nor how
many guests, but they were entertained,
horses. servants and ell, and the host had il
in his power 10 give mount to every one.
This reminds one of the tournaments that
used to be held in a valley north of here,
where the hillsides would be black with spec.
tators There IS "a great air Of romance about
the place. 1t has as much local feeling as
Sleepy Hollow, and is O sort Of southern
fourth couSin.to that dear spot One does
not wonder that writer feels it. and can
easily believe the report that Maurice Thomp
son wrote a Tallahassee Girl afrer only tive
weeks of life here.
The most notable feature of Tallahassee 10
the ruin CT what once were great old places |
houses set in groves of live oak and mag.
nolias, falling into decay. only bits left of the
hedges and avenues
You see the same thing in the faces Of the |
people, far away look on the Old faces, and |
on the young, now and again, that restless |
expression that always suggests Christopher |
Columbus and the longing for new worlds to |
nv mind. But they have eaten OF sthe !
lotos They DO not often break away aftert
all They put spurs tc their horses instead, p
and ride hard out into the pine land; they setf
their teeth firmly, and, fortunately or unfor !
tunately, for the merciful hand of Fate Is =
not always kind, they end by falling in love Z
with some southern girl, with voice ike their 1
own and ways like their own. Then comes
moonlight night, another and another. Con.
secutive moonlight nights are absolute